Many a truth is told in jest

Posted by Buttons T. C. on July 22, 2006

"Many a truth is told in jest."

Or the haughtier version of same---"Full many a truth is oft told in jest."

I was always under the impression that it was somewhere in the writings of Shakespeare, but if that is the case Google is unaware of it. I know it's not in the Bible (at least not the KJV) and I also submitted it to the search bar at this site, but no luck. I thought it was a much more common a phrase than it apparently is, so hopefully someone here can shed some light on it's origin. One of the people referencing it in a post prefaced it with "As the Brits say..." so since this site originated there, my hopes are high.

BTW----congratulations to whomever started this site. It's great. As a lifelong verbivore, I am so delighted to have stumbled upon it. I will be doing a lot of reading in the archives. :)